MfS
about
Music from Scrap
the Project
Music from Scrap is a project from composer-performer-artists Abby Kellems, Jessie Lausé, and Gavin Kitchen that enlivens recycling education through music making. Sustainability is intrinsically linked to creativity and resourcefulness. Music from Scrap marries art and music to explore those connections and empower the community to find creativity and joy in climate change solutions.
In partnership with EcoCycle, the Boulder Public Library, Boulder Arts Commission, and Boulder County Arts Alliance, Music from Scrap will center around an installation in the Canyon Gallery at the Boulder Public Library. It will feature interactive instruments built from recycled materials, graphic/text scores, artistic infographics about local issues, and serve as the site of workshops on instrument-building and sustainability. Music from Scrap's collaboration with EcoCycle will inform critical discussions around the history, impact, and future of recycling in the Denver Metro Area, as we interrogate what it means to be a sustainable musician. The installation will include a concert held at the Canyon Theater at the Boulder Public Library featuring original works written for instruments made from recycled materials, a performance by Renova New Music Ensemble, and more.
the People
Abby Kellems is a composer, performer, and arts administrator based in Colorado. Her work explores the images and intricacies of the natural world, and she focuses on creating musical experiences that facilitate a deeper relationship between listeners, performers, and the environment. She holds a Master's of Music in Music Composition from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Bachelor’s of Music in Music Composition from the University of Oregon, and has studied with Annika Socolofsky, Michael Theodore, Robert Kyr, and David Crumb. Kellems is also a founding member of the Plein Air Sound Collective, an ecosystem of composers, performers, producers, and other artists with the common goal of exploring the relationship between sound and environment. She is the Assistant Librarian at the Boulder Phil and likes to hike, read, bake, take slow-motion videos of water, and listen to live music.
Jessie Lausé is a sound artist, educator, and administrator from central Kentucky. Their work often utilizes experimental electronic and acoustic sound practices, found sounds and physical materials, and alternative notations to encourage diversified sensory engagement. They are passionate about creating inclusive and collaborative learning environments and accessible creative spaces.​ Jessie holds a B.S. in arts/nonprofit administration from Butler University and a M.M. in Music Composition from University of Colorado Boulder. While at CU-Boulder, they taught undergraduate music technology and studied with Annika Socolofsky, Grace Leslie, and Michael Theodore. Jessie is a member of the Plein Air Sound Collective. When not making art, Jessie works for Canine Partners of the Rockies, a nonprofit service dog school that raises, trains, and places assistance dogs throughout Colorado. Jessie spends their free time rollerskating with their spouse and watching RuPaul’s Drag Race with their cats, Gubaidulina and Mr. Bear.
Gavin Kitchen is a percussionist, composer, and educator from Murfreesboro,
Tennessee. He holds a Master’s degree in percussion performance from the
University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor’s degree in percussion
performance from the University of Tennessee Martin. As a soloist, Gavin
received runner-up the Vibraphone Project Inc.’s Vibefest Vibraphone Solo Competition in 2025, first place in Tennessee’s Day of Percussion Collegiate Keyboard Competition in 2019, runner-up at the University of Tennessee Martin’s Instrumental Solo Competition in 2021, and was a semi-finalist in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Graduate Student Performance Solo Competition in 2024. He is the principal percussionist of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, the percussionist for the Plein Air Sound Collective (a site specific mixed chamber ensemble), and regularly performs as a substitute percussionist in regional orchestras and pit orchestras.